It's been almost a week since Google announced the Death of Google Reader. And to say the internet has gone into a fire-storm is a understatement. Bloggers and common people alike have been scrambling to find alternatives and to also understand why.
Google Reader was introduced in 2005 and since it's existence it's been the go to RSS reader. Overtime the popularity of technology has grown tremendously. The caveat to that is that Google states Reader has a "declining but loyal following." Fast forward to today: there are many choices to get your news: Twitter, G+, & Facebook to name a few. But loyalists say that Google Reader is needed. I agree with that sentiment.
To understand Google Reader you must first understand RSS (really simple syndication). RSS was started by Dave Winer in 1997 it was created to offer information all in one place in a timely fashion. Dave Winer has since passed control to Harvard University. Google Reader came into play by consolidating all the information in a seamless fashion, becoming the most popular RSS reader platform on the planet! Now Google sees Reader as a dead service and have announced the "death" date as July 1, 2013. Giving all users a three-month "sunset period" to find alternatives.
There are alternatives. Feedly (which has amassed 500,000 new users since Google's annoucement), Newsblur, Feedreader, and Pulse just to name a few. Whether Google has gotten too "Big" to support RSS or it's just not that popular to support, one thing is for certain: the internet NEEDS RSS!
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